Simulation is an essential tool that enables the performance analysis and the design of end-to-end networks. It indeed provides insights on complex behaviors that are hard to model analytically. Moreover, using an end-to-end simulator, a researcher can study in detail the interaction among the different elements of the network, at different layers in the protocol stack.

Therefore, our team at the University of Padova and NYU WIRELESS have developed an end-to-end simulation framework for 5G mmWave networks. It is based on ns-3, a popular and open-source network simulator. As a results, this simulator allowed us to perform the studies described in the Transport Protocols and Mobility sections. For example, it features:

multiple channel models, including the implementation of the latest 3GPP model for frequencies above 6 GHz and the possibility of plugging traces from ray tracing softwares;

detailed PHY and MAC layers, with customizable parameters that can also simulate different numerologies;